SQUAD 451
by Ohdair
Summary: A/U. SQUAD 451 is an elite tactical unit put together in secret to eliminate Coriolanus Snow, who plans to purify Panem by eliminating the weaker races of the districts. After Beete get's shot in the spine, Sergeant Everdeen is recruited to the team. With Gale, Finnick, Johanna and Boggs, the team executes their first mission: Extract one of Snow's men, Peeta, alive. FxK GxK PxK
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **A/U SQUAD 451 is an elite tactical unit put together in secret to eliminate Coriolanus Snow, who plans to purify the world by eliminating the weaker races of the districts. After Beete get's shot in the spine, Sergeant Everdeen is recruited to the team. With Captain Gale Hawthorne of the Capitol Special Forces, SEAL Lieutenant Finnick Odair, Sergeant Johanna Mason of the District Special Forces and General Boggs, the team regroups to continue their first mission: extract and interrogate one of Snow's right hand man , Peeta Mellark. But they quickly realize that Coriolanus Snow has far more sinister plans than the Hunger Games. Only the strong, the worthy, shall survive.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. This is purely for my enjoyment, and because once an idea pops into my head I go crazy unless I write about it.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

New Recruit

Katniss Everdeen was in over her head.

Just yesterday she was being debriefed after a successful drug raid with her team against the Madison Drug Cartel, the largest drug cartel in the Capitol. They managed to infiltrate and control the drug markets in the city and all thirteen districts, using children as leverage and bribing officials to facilitate the flow of Morphate (their new hallucinogenic drug) from one district to the next. How they were able to produce so much so quickly and simultaneously distribute it to every district remains a mystery; one they hope to figure out with their newly acquired intel. Now she was sitting in a small interrogation room in an undisclosed location, in front of a one-way mirror enclosed by three walls of thick concrete, and the only way out is being guarded by a menacing looking armed soldier.

There was a melodic knock on the door, probably coded, before a middle aged man dressed in an all black suit entered the room, a silver briefcase in his hand. He smiled warmly at Katniss as she got to her feet.

"Sergeant Katniss Everdeen, sorry to have kept you waiting," he said softly, waving his hand to her chair. "Please."

They sat in unison, and for a moment they merely stared at each other in silence. He was the first to break it. "I don't want to waste anymore of your time Ms. Everdeen so I'll get straight to the point." He popped open the briefcase and retrieved a single sheet of paper, sliding it across the table towards her. It read _Growing unrest in Capitol, Call for Eugenics movement _in big, bold letters. Underneath the title was a picture of a man in a protest rally, holding a sign that said 'Purification is NOW.'

"Do you know what this is about, Ms. Everdeen?"

Katniss nodded firmly. How could she not? It's been all over the news the past month or so. "The idea of having a Master Race of humans, and getting rid of the weak, decrepit, or 'unfit' groups of people." She frowned. "It's vile."

The man seemed to smile at her comment, a little. "We'd like to think so as well." He pulled out another sheet of paper, this time a picture of a well dressed old man with striking white hair. "This is Coriolanus Snow, the mastermind behind the movement. We believe he is mobilizing an army with the intention to usurp government so he can act on his eugenic ideologies."

Katniss looked up from the picture as the man's face turned grim. "If Coriolanus Snow overthrows our government, he will bring forth an age of games much like the Romans of old, where armed men and slaves are thrown into an arena and forced to kill each other in front of a roaring crowd. Except this time, we'll be forcing swords in the hands of children."

Katniss barely had time to digest the terrifying information before another stack of pictures was presented to her; a satellite image of a large underground network of tunnels was on top. "For the last year our government kept a close eye on Mr. Snow to make sure his ideas were kept in check. Regrettably, he was initially classified as a level 1 threat; unimportant, dismissible, bottom of priority, allowing him to operate under our radar. Until two months ago, when recent intelligence informed us of a massive military base he's managed to build underground in District 13. We've mobilized troops to investigate the base and arrest Snow but they were – killed, and sent back to us in boxes."

Katniss flipped through the pictures and felt her stomach clench; they were graphic images of Capitol Soldiers shot in the head or decapitated, then chopped up and placed in small wooden crates. Bile formed in her throat. A folder was placed in front of her with the words TOP SECRET stamped in red on the cover.

"Three weeks ago our government put together an elite team of soldiers to capture Coriolanus Snow called SQUAD 451," his fingers intertwined together and a small, proud smile tugged on his lips. "They're the best of the best. Unfortunately one of our soldiers was badly injured last week, leaving him incapacitated and unfit for the field. This is why you are here, Sergeant Everdeen." He pointed at the folder in her hands, leaning back in his chair. "In that folder is the details of the mission, including profiles of the soldiers you will be working with should you choose to accept my offer."

He slid the last paper from his briefcase across the table towards Katniss. It was her profile, with the picture she took when she first joined District Special Forces Academy four years ago on the top right hand corner of the page. She looked so young. "This offer will last one minute, and one minute only. Should you choose to accept, you will be taken immediately by a government car to our facility and where you are to await further instructions. You can provide me a list of everything you'll need from your house and my team will extract it for you. Should you refuse my offer, you will be tranquilized and taken by a government car to your home, where you will wake up the next day perfectly fine and healthy. Understandably, everything that we've discussed in this room is strictly confidential, and must not be relayed or communicated to anyone else. Are we clear, Sergeant Everdeen?"

Katniss nodded, feeling completely numb. Was this really happening? Was she really getting recruited to a top secret elite group organized by the government to capture Coriolanus Snow? Why her? Sure she had pretty high commendations from her superiors and she was an excellent shot with almost any gun, but was that enough? She had no time to process it. He clicked a small black pen and passed it to her.

"Sergeant Katniss Everdeen of District 12, you are hereby offered a position in SQUAD 451 by the Government of the United Districts of Panem, and are entrusted to withhold and serve to the best of your abilities, the mission to which you are appointed, until such time of which you are discharged, killed, formally relieved of your duties or otherwise. Sign your name if you accept. Your minute starts now."

The red digital clock on top of the one-way mirror came to life, counting down from a minute. Katniss Everdeen signed her name on the paper before it reached 50 seconds.

* * *

It must have been hours before the blind fold was taken from her eyes. Katniss squinted under the bright light, raising her hand to block out the intrusion. "Where am I?" She asked to no one in particular.

"You're safe," was the response of a gentle voice. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but when it finally did, a tall man with cropped gray hair, blue eyes and incredible posture greeted her. Beside him was an older man in a wheelchair wearing thick rimmed glasses that were entirely too large for his face.

"Sergeant Everdeen, welcome to Head Quarters. I'm General Boggs, and this," the tall man waved towards the man in the wheelchair, "is Corporal Beete. He'll be showing you around the compound and into your quarters where you will change to your uniform and then proceed to the mess hall for lunch. Do you have any questions?"

Yes. Plenty. "No."

Boggs frowned.

"No, sir," Katniss quickly croaked, her throat dry from the lack of use. Come to think of it, she could use a glass of water.

General Boggs gave her a curt nod, and then disappeared behind the doors. Beete gave her a bright smile and extended his hand. "Hello Sergeant Katniss, nice to meet you."

Katniss took it without reluctance and returned the gesture. "Likewise Corporal Beete."

"We should proceed with the tour, before the others finish all the food," he said earnestly, swiveling in his chair and heading out the room with Katniss trailing behind him.

According to Beete the compound was above ground, but the few windows they passed by were all tinted a solid black so it was hard to confirm. The layout was simple enough; the main hallway that they were currently in was the widest, which branched off to different marked areas to its left or right. The training facilities were to the left, divided into smaller hallways that lead to rooms for specific training purposes like the Shooting Range, the gym, combat room, weapons bay, etc. Living quarters and anything related was to the right, including the mess hall, showers, and the entertainment room. Down the farthest end of the main hall were the elevators, which could take you to the Garage on the first floor, the Operations room on the third, or the helipad.

"Every room requires a key and a code, and unless given direct permission, we are confined to the second floor," Beete says with a smile, wheeling to a stop in front of a door with her name on a plaque right beside it. He flashed a small card against a scanner and entered a code. The door slid open. "This is your room."

It was a small box with white walls and no windows, a twin size bed on the corner with a black duffle bag on top, a closet and a desk. It reminded Katniss of her old dormitory at the Academy. Katniss grimaced. "This place is already starting to feel like a prison to me."

Beete laughed lightly. "It can feel that way. But the people here are nice, so it feels like a home."

Katniss nodded at him, stepping into the room to inspect the closet. There were about 20 dark blue cotton shirts hanging on a rack, 20 dark blue cotton shorts, and 20 dark blue pants. To the side were five pairs of black, form-fitting full body suits, along with a thick, padded vest, black collared shirts, dark grey camouflage pants and hooded sweatshirts, all of which had a symbol of golden bird with a ring around it on the crest. _Mockingjays?_

Beete's little device beeped in his hands and suddenly his entire demeanor changed. "Change of plans, we'll have to skip lunch and head straight to Operations. You'll need to get dressed." He shuffled in his pocket for a second then threw something small and rectangular at Katniss. "Energy bar. I was going to save it for later but I guess you need it more than I do. I'll wait outside while you change."

The door hissed and closed.

Katniss stood for a moment in silence to collect herself. Everything felt like a dream, like she was floating outside her body and could do nothing but watch as she walked around this strange new place and followed orders. What did she get herself into, exactly? When would she get out? Could she even get out?

She fingered the material of her uniform; the fabric was different. It was soft to the touch and breathable, but when she tried to claw her fingers through it was surprisingly durable.

"Is everything okay, Sergeant Everdeen?" Beete's voice echoed from outside, snapping her from her thoughts.

With a resigned sigh, she started undressing. Her questions would have to wait.

* * *

The uniform fit her very well, and if she didn't feel so lost she probably would've appreciated how good it looked on her. It was tight in all the right places, and the vest was a lot lighter than she thought it would be. The vest she wore at work was five times as heavy, and was probably not as effective as the one she currently had on.

"Have you read through the profiles yet?" Beete asked curiously as they made their way to the elevator.

Katniss shook her head slightly embarrassed, opening the folder in her hand. When did they expect her to read through this? When she was blindfolded? Quickly, she skimmed through the important points of the profiles, remembering to put a name to the picture of the face. Luckily for her, there were only four.

_Captain Gale Hawthorne of the Capitol Special Forces. _Unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance and counter-terrorism. Recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross and Special Forces Medal of Command. Youngest Capitol Special Forces Captain in position.

Katniss bit her lip, staring at his picture. Gale is really good looking. He had dark black hair, high cheekbones and confident grey eyes. 'Okay, so I'm a little excited,' she thought to herself. 'Sue me.'

She turned the page.

_SEAL Capitol Lieutenant Finnick Odair. _Unconventional warfare, covert operations and counter-guerilla. Recipient of the Capital Fleet Cross and SEAL Medal of Valor. Delta Trained Classified.

Katniss almost pulled her hair out in frustration when she looked at Finnick's picture. He too is incredibly attractive, with short bronze hair and the most beautiful sea green eyes. And his _smile_. 'They expect me to live with these boys? Without adult supervision?'

She turned the page.

_Sergeant Johanna Mason of the District Special Forces. _Unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism and district intelligence. Thank god she wasn't the only girl. Johanna had brown eyes and short spiky hair.

She turned the page.

_Corporal Beete of the Capitol Special Forces. _Tech. Engineer specializing in weapons and communications.

"That's not a very flattering picture of me," Beete piped up, flashing his card and punching in some keys to open the elevator.

Katniss laughed softly, stepping in after him. "I think you're the best looking of the bunch."

"It would be difficult to argue with that." Beete grinned and pressed the "3" button. "You're probably going to get briefed on our current mission, before I got into the accident."

Katniss' eyes widened at that. She didn't even think... "I didn't realize-

"That I was the one you're replacing?" Beete cut in, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Personally, I don't think I should have been in the field in the first place. I'm too old, and I could hardly keep up with those guys. I was slowing everybody down."

Not knowing what to say, Katniss nodded and tried to change the subject instead. "What was the mission?"

"Extraction. We just found the location of one of Snow's most trusted men. They're very well hidden you see, and Snow rarely stays in one place for too long. We were supposed to extract him and get Snow's location from him, but I was shot below the spine and had to be brought back."

"What's his name?" Katniss asked absently just as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.

"It's the boy who rescued that family from the burning building, the one from a year ago? It was highly publicized for weeks, he was even named a local hero," Beete quipped and rolled out into the hallway. "Hard to imagine Peeta Mellark working with someone like Snow. Such a shame."

"Yeah," Katniss whispered, remembering Peeta's face well from his many interviews about the rescue. All of Panem seemed to love him. "Hard to imagine."

* * *

Author's note: So my mind has spontaneously written a pretty kick-ass outline for this fic as I'm writing it, and I'm kind of excited. But please REVIEW and let me know what you think so far! It's a strong motivator.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The girl's got fire

The Operations Room was a round dome with multiple monitors hanging overhead, various computers and machines lined the walls that clicked and beeped intermittently, and a central pod in the middle of a conference table projected a hologram of the Mockingjay right above it. It all seemed so fictitious, like she was in a film about secret agents sometime in the distant future. But at the same time it all felt very present, and tangible.

"Listen up 451," Boggs voice was stern. He pressed a button on the center pod and punched a few keys. "We finally have some good news." The hologram of the Mockingjay was replaced by a revolving picture of Peeta Mellark; familiar, kind blue eyes, gentle expression. Katniss couldn't stop the frown on her face. An unsettling feeling of doubt immediately gnawed at her, as if it were trying to break through to the surface of her consciousness. How could someone like Peeta work for someone like Snow? It didn't make sense. Could their intel be wrong? Even if it was, she was in no place to question that. Katniss was the new kid.

"I sent Finnick on a recon mission at 08:00 to follow up on a lead we've been tracking for the past week. It was a long shot but Lieutenant Pretty boy managed to get a location on our asset." Beside Boggs stood Finnick, brows furrowed in concentration as he fiddled with the straps of his charcoal vest, short copper hair a little out of sorts but otherwise looking immaculate in his uniform. His picture did not do him any justice. Katniss forced herself to look away before anyone could catch her staring, because, well, that would be embarrassing.

Johanna, who Katniss easily recognized seeing as she was the only other woman on the team, glanced at her watch. "This morning?" She croaked. "How the hell are you back so soon?"

The wicked smirk that tugged on Finnick's lips would have made any woman blush scarlet. He ran a hand through his hair in a feeble attempt to try and tame it. "I can be very persuasive."

Everyone hide your daughters, quickly.

Johanna rolled her eyes and made excessive gagging noises with her throat, Beete chuckling beside Katniss like it was a common occurrence. SQUAD 451 was formed only three weeks ago but already they seemed so close. 'Hopefully not too close,' Katniss thought anxiously. No one's noticed her presence yet, or if they did they made no indication of it. But when Boggs finally turned to her, all eyes in the room quickly followed. Katniss had to pummel her insecurities down and forced herself to stand up straight with her hands behind her back. She'd be damned if she caved under the eyes of these pretty punks.

No one intimidates Katniss Everdeen.

"451, meet your newest member Sergeant Katniss Everdeen of District Special Forces. She will be relieving Corporal Beete of his field duties." Johanna and Finnick gave her mildly interested nods of recognition, but Gale, who was standing opposite Boggs, seemed to look right through her with a blank expression. Katniss gritted her teeth.

"This is Captain Gale Hawthorne of Capitol Special Forces, your commanding officer in the field," Boggs stated, clasping Gale on the shoulder. Gale's grey eyes focused on her and he permitted the smallest twitch of his lips in her direction. Gee, thanks. "He's a bit uptight, but his job is to keep you alive," Boggs continued with a light chuckle.

Finnick snorted out loud, prompting a glare from Gale. "Can it, Odair."

"SEAL Lieutenant Finnick Odair," Boggs pointed a thumb at the man beside him with a resigned sigh. The young Lieutenant flashed Katniss a smile so magnetic it lit up the entire room, and though she fought tooth and nail against it, something about Finnick compelled her to smile back. Katniss mentally kicked herself for giving in to his charms so easily. 'I must be coming down with a fever or something,' she thought bitterly.

"Fin is mildly talented and very conceited."

"Now hang on just a minute I'm-

Boggs threw an arm over Finnick's shoulder and covered his mouth to silence the young Lieutenant. "But don't let this pretty face fool you, he's just about as good as they get." He nodded towards Johanna, who was already watching Katniss with calculating eyes. "Sergeant Johanna Mason of District Special Forces. Try to stay on her good side." Johanna grabbed onto her vest and nodded her head. "And you've met Corporal Beete of Capitol Special Forces. He'll be grounded at Head Quarters from now on, in charge of communications and weapons." Beete tapped his wheelchair and whistled.

"We," Boggs spread his arms wide, gesturing to the entire room, "are SQUAD 451. You were all handpicked specifically because of your expertise, experience and because you are the best at what you do. We are neither CSF, DSF, SEAL, Air Force, Navy or Armed Reserves, but an umbrella of all factions. Our main directive is to eliminate Coriolanus Snow. Although according to the government of the United Districts of Panem, we do not exist. This gives them full deniability of their involvement should we get caught; which means if we get caught, we are on our own." He leaned in with his arms on the table; shoulders hunched forward, eyes aimed at Katniss. "Do. Not. Get. Caught."

"I don't plan to," Katniss replied coolly, even though she was certain that it was a rhetorical statement. That was always the problem with Katniss, she had loose lips, especially when directly challenged. Finnick, Boggs and Johanna seemed to appreciate her spunk. Gale just kept looking past her.

"On to business then. Finnick?" Boggs stepped back, allowing Finnick to approach the pod. He plugged in a usb stick and punched a few keys, changing the hologram image to show the schematics of a large warehouse complex. The childlike demeanor of Finnick Odair disappeared so quickly Katniss had to wonder if the flirtatious persona he was sporting earlier was just a character he liked to play.

"Since our last debacle, Peeta has been transferred from one secure location after another with a small contingent of semi-competent guards, relocating every 48 hours. My intel puts him in an abandoned warehouse facility just outside the boundaries of the Capitol, but he's being moved 33:00 hours from now to an unknown location. If we lose him again, it might take us weeks to pick up his trail." He pushed another button. Pictures of heavily fortified white vans came to life. "He'll be transported using these tacky, unmarked vehicles armed with trigger switches inside. If we attack any of these, a trigger switch will set off a charge that will blow the van sky high."

"Peeta must have some valuable information inside that little brain of his then," Johanna quipped, inspecting her manicured nails.

Gale approached the central pod. "If Snow can't have Peeta alive, he'd rather have him dead. That gives us one chance to extract him. Our only opportunity would be to grab him before he gets into that van." Gale went back to the previous image, touched the hologram with one hand and moved his fingers to manipulate it. "The building directly in front will be heavily guarded, so we'll take the one to its 4 o'clock. What's the range of the Hemlick Beete?"

Beete adjusted his glasses on his face. "The Hemlick's about 2000 meters."

"Finnick and I will head over and try and tap their surveillance tonight." Gale's grey eyes travelled to Katniss, again passive and disinterested. That was really starting to piss Katniss off. "I hear you're a good shot."

She stepped forward confidently. "I am."

"We'll see," Gale deadpanned. "Sergeant Mason will give you a half hour to practice with the Hemlick. If she decides your performance is adequate enough, you can suit up with us tomorrow."

Adequate enough? Katniss' hands balled into fists behind her back

Oh, she'll show him adequate.

Gale mimicked her stance with his hands behind his back, as if to mock her. "Is there a problem, Sergeant Everdeen?"

Yeah, I don't like your mightier-than-thou attitude. "Not at all," Katniss plastered a teeth-filled smile on her face. "I look forward to suiting up tomorrow."

* * *

"Is there a problem, Sergeant Everdeen?" Katniss mimicked bitterly, her face scrunched up with distaste. She yanked her shirt over her head and chucked it at the wall before unclasping her bra and doing the same to it. "I'll show you a problem Captain Pompous." She kicked her boots off and thumbed the waist of her pants. "Just because you're attractive doesn't mean you get to walk with a stick up your butt!"

She pulled her pants down, just as her door slid open.

"This is nice," said an amused, slurred voice.

Katniss almost jumped out of her skin in surprise, her hand flying to her bottom and breasts, cheeks bright red. She glared indignantly at her intruder. "Who are you?! And don't you knock?"

Her intruder didn't even have the courtesy to look away, which only made Katniss angrier. He just continued to stare with unabashed interest, long dark hair spilling over his middle aged face, his body leaning against the door frame. He was holding a card and a sealed envelope. "Haymitch Abernathy. I'm one of the instructors here," he blubbered, the smell of alcohol seeping through the air causing Katniss to rear back from the stench. "Came to give you your key card thingy and pass code."

Katniss stared at his outstretched hand like he was crazy. She couldn't very well reach out and grab it, that would expose herself, seeing as she was using both hands to cover what was left of her dignity. "You must be insane."

Haymitch waved his hands dismissively, entering her room and resting his hip on her desk. He set the card and the envelope down as well. "Relax Sergeant Everdeen, I've seen much prettier naked women than you. And I've seen a lot of them. And they were much more naked. And they didn't mind that I looked." When Katniss didn't budge, he rolled his eyes and stalked to her closet, grabbing a T-shirt and some shorts and throwing it at her. "Here, look presentable."

"I'm not going to change with you in here," Katniss growled, clutching her clothes tightly over her breasts and womanhood. Haymitch sighed and covered his eyes with his hand.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not, actually," Haymitch drawled. He peeked through his fingers at his watch. "Now get a move on, we've got your assessment test to do."

Katniss gave him a blank look. Assessment? "What for?"

"Your assessment, duh."

* * *

Finnick and Gale landed on their feet with cat-like grace and silence, the screen of the ventilation shaft they came from dangling sideways from its hinges. The cramped storage room they were in was dark, filled with cardboard boxes and cleaning supplies, various brooms and mops propped against the walls in a messy clump. Besides the light that spilled through the cracks of the door from the hallway, the only thing that could've given away their presence was the faint yellowish-green light emitting from their eye scanner. Finnick weaved through the mops and boxes and crouched down by the door. He pulled out a little wire from his pocket and attached it to the small device in his hand, slipping the wire underneath.

_Fifteen minutes,_ Beete reminded them through their earpiece.

"Two corner cameras. We're clear." Finnick pulled back the wire and opened the door, turning to Gale with an inquiring look. "So, you like her then?"

Shit.

Play dumb.

"Like who?" Gale asked airily, avoiding Finnick's eyes. He unclasped the holster on his side and withdrew a toy-looking gun that had circular disks at the end and a tiny microchip stitched on its center. He adjusted the weight of the gun in his hand and cocked it, kneeling down on the edge of the doorway far enough so he could see but not far enough to be spotted by the cameras. This was a lot trickier than he thought.

"The girl you were sassing a while ago," Finnick whispered with a knowing smirk, a hand on his hip. "Did Sergeant Everdeen make your little soldier stand in attention?"

Gale rolled his eyes at the euphemism. "Mind your own business Odair."

_I believe he just implied your penis is of less than impressive caliber, captain. _

"Yeah Beete I got that, thanks." Gale leaned out a bit and angled his hand, turning his head to the side to align his aim. His heart pounded excitedly against his chest as the blood coursed like fuel in his veins, filling him with a rush of unwanted adrenaline and causing his hands to tremble. If he missed the shot by a millimeter, the alarms would sound and it would be all over for them.

He could hear Finnick fidgeting impatiently behind him, but he forcibly blocked it out from his head and focused on his target.

Calm down.

Hold breathing. Stabilize posture. Exhale and squeeze trigger. Gale licked his lips. It was now or never.

But before he could move Finnick stepped beside him and in one fluid motion quickly leaned out and angled his shot, gently squeezing the trigger as it fired a round to the corner camera, before rapidly turning his wrist and head to angle another shot at the other camera. Thin paper disks flew across the long hallway in a blur of white and smacked straight on each of the lenses. The circular plaques beeped, and after a moment the camera fizzled quietly, like the sound of scratching static, before it resumed its normal oscillation.

_Nice shot Finnick! _Beete cheered in awe.

Gale glared spitefully at the Lieutenant, holstering his gun and mumbling under his breath as he straightened up. Show off. "You know I had that."

"I know," Finnick replied, shrugging. "But you were taking too long."

Gale had to remind himself that Finnick was on their side, and that strangling him would jeopardize the mission. They stepped out into the hall and made their way down, pausing at every corner to make sure the coast was clear. The surveillance room shouldn't be too far from where they were. He was just about to round another corner when Finnick clasped his shoulder and pulled him back. He pointed at the corner.

Another camera.

Finnick grinned at him. "You want to take this one?"

Gale took out his gun, his eyes narrowed. "This one's mine."

"Just don't take too long this time," Finnick teased with an amiable chuckle.

Can I please punch him in his pretty face? Just once, I swear. "I can bug a camera Odair."

The green-eyed boy shook his head with a playful grin. "I meant with Katniss."

Gale flinched.

* * *

"You didn't think this whole facility was built just for you privileged brats, did you?" Haymitch asked gruffly as he led Katniss down the main hallway and into the training facilities branch. Actually, she did think that. But to her defence, she only got here a couple of hours ago. How was she supposed to know anything?

"This is a training facility for gifted soldiers under the direction of General Boggs and his distinguished instructors," Haymitch paused, did a bow that he must have thought was impressive, and grinned sloppily. "I am one of those instructors. We train, assess, and sort them into different factions depending on skill level, personalities and demand."

"So this is like a school?" Katniss looked around the empty hallways. "Where are these gifted soldiers then?"

They turned a corner.

"They live in a different compound. But you do share the same training facilities and leisure rooms. You'll see them then." Haymitch stopped by a thick metallic door, like the door of a big bank vault, and flashed his card against a side panel. The sounds of gears and cogs locking and unlocking vibrated through the walls, before the door released pressurized air from underneath and swung open. Katniss gawked.

"Welcome to the House of Horrors."

The training compound was underneath one gigantic room resembling an airplane hangar the size of multiple football fields, separated into sections by massive black tarps that hung from the ceiling and stretched all the way to the polished, cemented floor. Bright fluorescent lights lit the room from underneath, like emergency lights in an airplane, and street signs were placed in areas where multiple walkways intercepted. Katniss and Haymitch walked past the gym, three Olympic sized swimming pools, a shooting range that had distances of up to 800 meters, an obstacle course type section named "The Jungle" with thick knotted ropes descending from the ceiling, barbed wires, truck tires, makeshift trees and wooden planks, a cemented bunker Katniss assumed was the Weapons Bay, and a big, dome-shaped building with a cheap looking, skewed neon sign that spelled SIMULATIONS ROOM across the top.

Haymitch smirked proudly at it. "I came up with the sign."

"I can believe that," Katniss replied, wiping the smirk off his face.

"Keep walking, Everdeen."

He led them into a small, enclosed room with a desk and a chair, like the one she was in when she first agreed to join the team. Of all the exciting sections of the training compound, of course this was the one she had to go to. On top of the desk was a stack of thick books, one notebook, a blue and yellow booklet, a calculator, some rulers, a protractor and a pen. Katniss' heart sank to her stomach.

"I'm going to write a test, aren't I."

Haymitch beamed at her glum expression. "I'm glad you're not a complete idiot." Katniss sat down on one side of the desk, more nervous than she'd like to admit, Haymitch on the other. She was competent in written exams, but she was always more of a physical student; hence why she joined the District Special Forces. "The assessment is divided into three parts: mental, physical and operational. Normally, we have an initial assessment of our recruits to get a sense of where they are mentally and physically, train them for a period of time, and then have a final assessment. But your assessment is an entry assessment, which is a single assessment to determine whether you're up to par with SQUAD 451 and its ridiculously high standards."

Katniss grimaced and sat up straight. "Wait a minute. I was offered this position, I wasn't informed it was conditional to passing some test."

Haymitch snorted at her and took a swig from his flask. Where did that even come from? "You thought you were gonna waltz in here and be part of the group? Aha! What kind of operation do you think we run over here, love?" He slapped a hand on top of the stack of textbooks. "This is the material all recruits have to know. We usually give them a month to study this before we test them on it. But you'll get to use them as your aid today."

A sigh of relief slipped past Katniss' lips; an open book test. That's not bad. When Haymitch saw her shoulders relax, he gave a hollow laugh. "Oh ho, don't think it's any easier because you've get these books to help you. Only 10% of our recruitment pool can pass this test. You've got three hours to complete both booklets."

"I don't have time for this," Katniss argued. She knew it was useless, but dang it she was going to try. "I have to train with the Hemlick before my test with Johanna if I want to go on the field tomorrow."

"Weapons training is under Operational Assessment. You have to pass the mental and physical part first before you get to play with our guns, Sergeant Everdeen." Haymitch unclasped his watch from his wrist and placed it on the table. "May the odds be in your favor, forever," he paused and frowned unsurely, "...or something like that." He got to his feet and staggered to the exit. "Three hours Katniss."

After the door closed behind him with a loud bang, Katniss quickly opened the books and started reading. Two and a half hours later, she wasn't even nearly finished with the first booklet. Realizing she wasn't going to finish on time, she took Haymitch's watch from the table and dialed it back an hour. When Haymitch came in even less sober than he was when he left, and spluttered around at Katniss to drop her pen, she pointed at his watch and told him she had an hour left. Confused and unstable, Haymitch held his watch up and stared at it intently, other hand gripping the desk for balance. He snarled at Katniss and pocketed the watch. "I've got eye my on you," he spat, pointing an accusing finger somewhere above Katniss, before slumping down on the chair and passing out.

Some hours later, Haymitch awoke with a startle, alone, with Katniss' exam booklets on the desk. There was a torn piece of paper on top of it with a note, written in Katniss' cursive handwriting.

_Maybe next time you'll learn how to knock._

He couldn't figure out what she meant, until he realized he was sitting in the empty room, as naked as the day he was born. Haymitch crumpled the note and smirked.

"The girl's got fire. I'll give her that."

* * *

A/N: I know it's starting off pretty slow, but I have to set up the scene before we get to know our characters. I also apologize for any errors, I don't have time to reread and edit tonight because I want to get it out there. Let me know what you think! Criticism is always welcome. Any feedback would be great.


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